You get paid for Football.. Why Can’t I? Pt.2
For all intensive purposes college athletics are viewed as an amatuer extra-curricular activity. However, coaching college athletics is a legitimate professional career, legitimate and well paying. College coaches are paid for the sole purpose of building programs and winning games; they don’t have teaching responsibilities or other institutional obligations. Athletes still receive zero compensation aside from athletic student scholarships; which only cover tuition, room and board. “But Coach,” Grange said. “You make money off of football. Why can’t I make money off of football?” As we have seen collegiate coaches are bringing in well over 7 figures as a base salary for merely job duties at this point; on top of the extra millions in incentives and bonus pay. 
With the influx of revenue generated by specifically NCAA Division 1 football we have seen outside sources become involved with student athletes; these outside relationships usually leave the athlete enthralled in a scandal involving improper benefits. Over the past few years we have seen a former Heisman Trophy winner USC star Reggie Bush stripped of his accolades due to receiving impermissible benefits during the recruiting process. As I referred to in part one of this blog, former Georgia Star Todd Gurley was suspended for allegedly signing memorabilia.
Players are not in this matter alone, but they are definitely on the losing end. We have seen several universities lose scholarships for not abiding by the rules, as well as lose eligibility for post-season play. The program only faces discipline when it can be proven that a coach or staff member had prior knowledge of the wrong doing. The player is the guilty party when it comes to receiving benefits; look at former Oklahoma State star Dez Bryant, Bryant was suspended indefinitely for seemingly nothing. "I just felt the manner in which I was interrogated by the NCAA was an experience I never had before," Bryant said. "The manner they asked the questions led me to believe that I did something wrong when in fact I had not. My mistake was not seeking advice prior to being interrogated and then turning around and not telling the truth.2" 
I believe that cases five even more reason to change the system on how we compensate college athletes. The fact of the matter is that people, the fans are willing to pay these kids for an autograph the same that they would a professional player. The time has come that we as coaches and athletic directors find a way to consider not only the effort of these players but their worth as well.
References:
No comments:
Post a Comment